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A stall worker uses his phone while waiting for customers on March 6, 2025, at a clothing shop in Tanah Abang Market in Central Jakarta.

Editorial premium

Limited options for pushing GDP

There is only so much the government can do to prop up economic activity, no matter how dear the gross domestic product growth figure is to President Prabowo Subianto.

13 hours ago

Editorial premium

Away from smoking screens

Despite its many advantages, the digital age has also expanded space for promoting tobacco products, exposing users of all ages to smoking via visually appealing content on social media platforms that are short on the economic and health costs of the harmful habit. ...

2 days ago

Editorial premium

Respect the Press Law

We call on all parties to respect the Press Law, which grants the Press Council authority over journalistic reporting. ...

3 days ago

The Latest

Tax campaign: People pass a banner promoting the government's tax amnesty at Tanah Abang textile market in Jakarta.

Opposing new tax amnesty

Once again pardoning tax evaders, including those who have committed corruption, illegal miners and loggers and drug syndicates, seems to be a blank check for money laundering.

4 years ago

$Antique arms: Soldiers stand with 50-year-old guns during the Indonesian military’s (TNI) 66th anniversary celebration in Jayapura, Papua, in this file photo. Inefficient budget management has left soldiers with\ obsolete equipment.$

Transparency the best policy

Many therefore have suggested that the Nanggala 402 accident is the right moment for strengthening the national defense system to a desired deterrence level. In fact Indonesia once was billed as a key regional player thanks to its strong military.

4 years ago

Unity: Protesters hold up posters in support of Myanmar’s National Unity Government (NUG) during a demonstration against the military coup on Global Myanmar Spring Revolution Day in Taunggyi, Shan state, Myanmar, on May 2.

Half-hearted ASEAN

ASEAN could have avoided such humiliation had it managed to show evidence of significant progress in restoring the situation in Myanmar.

4 years ago

National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) commissioner Choirul Anam (second left) talks to journalists in Jakarta on May 24 after receiving a report from senior Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigator Novel Baswedan (left) and other employees pertaining to the civic knowledge test for KPK employees.

A president’s words matter

President Jokowi did issue a statement asking for the 75 investigators to be reinstated, yet he did not take concrete steps to save the KPK personnel.

4 years ago

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani (center) together with Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo (right) give directives to Central Java provincial government officials, in Semarang on Feb. 14, 2020.

The elections arrive early

The political elites and major parties seem to have little empathy with the people’s suffering as they have already begun to flex their muscles in the scramble for entitlement to tickets in 2024.

4 years ago

Papuan students grouped under Papuan Student Alliance (AMP) hold a protest in front of Merdeka Palace in Central Jakarta on Wednesday, Aug. 28,. 2019. In the protests, they reject racial abuse and demand the government to retract the internet blackout in West Papua and Papua.

The Papua question

Since an internet shutdown in Papua is not unprecedented, many are skeptical that a technical issue is really behind the current outage.

4 years ago

Trading hub: A woman walks past a large screen displaying Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) data in Jakarta on March 9, 2020.

Speeding up SOE reform

More IPOs of state-owned enterprises could improve transparency and accountability, but the minister's plan for more firms to go public may run up against vested interests.

4 years ago

Handling a crisis: An employee of the Health Care and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan) serves a customer at the agency’s branch office in Jakarta on July 1.

Getting it right first time

It is important to underline the scale of this undertaking, and the potential failings that, if left unaddressed, will prevent Indonesia from enjoying a world-class digital ecosystem and data privacy rights.

4 years ago

At your fingertips: A resident of Bogor, West Java, shows her smartphone that she is using to buy home decoration items via an online marketplace on Feb. 24. Research by the Indonesian E-commerce Association revealed that online selling and buying activities have kept the economic wheels turning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The digital race knows no borders

With more investors taking an interest in the region, Indonesian startups should not settle for only winning the local market but aim higher.

4 years ago

A cyber security researcher canceled a hacking conference briefing on how he said he could crack biometric facial recognition on Apple Inc (AAPL.O) iPhones.

Rise of digital repression?

Twenty-three years after Soeharto told the nation he “quit”, both the hope for a more democratic Indonesia and the utopian vision of an egalitarian cyberspace seem to be far off from reality.

4 years ago

Voice of Indonesia: President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo addresses the general debate of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 22, 2020. The event was held via video conference due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In ‘good’ company

The country that had at one time championed for the inclusion of human rights and democratic principles in the ASEAN Charter, is now seen as voting against attempts to uphold those very principles internationally.

4 years ago

A kite vendor flies one of his products on May 14, 2021 at Carnaval Beach of Ancol Dreamland Park in North Jakarta. The negative quarterly contraction recorded in January-March 2021 and long-term analysis forecasting prolonged economic impacts from the pandemic, however, indicate that it's likely premature to start easing restrictions.

Still hamstrung by COVID-19

As economic researchers have continued to caution, as have health scientists and government critics, recovering the economy hinges on bringing COVID-19 under control.

4 years ago

ASEAN Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi (left) greets Indonesian President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo during the ASEAN leaders' summit at the bloc's secretariat building in Jakarta on April 24, 2021.

ASEAN, hurry up

ASEAN is racing against time as millions of people in Myanmar have been living in anxiety amid the starvation and the threatening COVID-19 pandemic.

4 years ago

Fire and smoke rise above buildings in Gaza City as Israeli warplanes target the Palestinian enclave, early on May 17, 2021. Israeli warplanes bombarded the Gaza Strip overnight, said witnesses in the Palestinian enclave, from where armed groups have launched rockets into the Jewish state.

Council of despair?

It is this great power rivalry that has increasingly gotten in the way of the UNSC getting anything done.

4 years ago

Traffic officers turn back vehicles at Pejagan toll gate in Brebes, Central Java, on May 9, 2021. The vehicles were traveling without health documents and travel permits, which are required to travel during the Idul Fitri holiday season.

A season of joy, caution

Imposing a ban only on holiday travel, but allowing other types of activities such as business, transportation and tourism to remain open sure looks like a recipe for disaster.

4 years ago

Demonstrators carrying Palestinian flags stand before a banner showing the flags of Arab League member states with Arabic text reading, “History will glorify but those faithful to Palestine and its cause,” during a protest against decisions by the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to normalize relations with Israel, in the city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank on Sept. 15, 2020.

Jerusalem is just a dream

From the beginning of his first term, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has been an outspoken defender of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.

4 years ago

A costumed police officer displays a leaflet discouraging people from participating in the Idul Fitri tradition of ‘mudik’ (exodus) because of the risk of COVID-19 contagion, in Tegal, Central Java, on April 26, 2021.

Bracing for the next wave

The deployment of police on roads leading out of major cities creates the impression that the policy discriminates against the poor.

4 years ago

Passengers approach a rapid testing area at Terminal 3 of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, on July 29. JP/Dhoni Setiawan

Graft and pandemic travel

Even without corrupt officials, the country’s current regulations would be lax by international standards.

4 years ago

Papua a terrorist hotbed?

The government’s move risks escalating violence in Papua as it will justify counterterrorism operations involving both the police and military.

4 years ago

Back in school: Secondary school students sit at a distance from one another during a simulation for face-to-face learning at Sekolah Nusa Alam in Mataram in December.

Education can’t wait

Fearing a yawning gap in the quality of education in Indonesia, the government has offered an option for schools to resume in-class learning when the new academic year begins in July.

4 years ago

Passengers from Dumai, Riau, line up to have their travel documents checked on April 21, 2021 at the Sekupang ferry terminal in Batam, Riau Islands. Some people have decided to travel early for Idul Fitri to avoid the ban on on 'mudik', which the government has revived this year.

Enforce the ‘mudik’ ban

Complacency is the greatest threat to seeing a "second wave".

4 years ago

The Cikidang resort in Sukabumi, West Java, is pictured on April 21. Politician Budiman Sudjamitko and businessman Dhanny Handoko are planning to develop the area into Bukit Algoritma (Algorithm Hill), which they hope will be an Indonesian version of Silicon Valley in California, the United States.

Indonesia’s Silicon Valley

The government and the private sector should understand that commitments and ambitions for the development of science and technology in the country are good, but not good enough.

4 years ago

House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Azis Syamsuddin (center) presides over a plenary session in Jakarta on April 2, 2020.

The story of Golkar’s Azis

Public trust in the KPK may not be fully restored, because the KPK Law was designed to weaken the once feared institution.

4 years ago

If you open our website today, not only will you see a cleaner design, you will also be able to access the revamped version of our e-paper.

38 years and beyond

If you open our website today, not only will you see a cleaner design, you will also be able to access the revamped version of our e-paper.

4 years ago

Let her go: A group of engineers hold up signs calling for the release of deposed Myanmar civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi during a demonstration against the military coup in Naypyidaw on Feb. 15.

Give Myanmar peace a chance

ASEAN leaders must show that they have the ways and means of resolving a crisis befalling a member of the ASEAN community.

4 years ago

The total amount of royalty payments distributed this year is about Rp 1.69 billion (US$116,412), collected from the use of musical works on television, in karaoke places, restaurants, malls, hotels and other entertainment centers.

Set the music free

While this may sound noble, it is a solution that is at best impractical and at worst misguided.

4 years ago

This undated handout from the Indonesian Military (TNI) released on Wednesday shows the Cakra class submarine KRI Nanggala 402 docking at a naval base in Surabaya, East Java. The TNI said it was searching for the submarine with 53 crew on board after losing contact with the vessel during naval exercises off the coast of Bali on Wednesday.

Save our sailors

In terms of submarine fleet, Indonesia, dubbed the world’s largest archipelagic state, lags behind fellow ASEAN member countries.

4 years ago

Actress Dian Sastrowardoyo (foreground) appears as Raden Adjeng Kartini in a still from 'Kartini' (2017), a Legacy Pictures biopic on the national heroine directed by Hanung Bramantyo.

Spreading Kartini's light

More than a century since the death of women’s emancipation pioneer and national heroine Radeng Adjeng Kartini, we still have much work to do to shed light on women's rights and issues.

4 years ago

Activists supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights hold a rally to mark the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia on May 17, 2015 at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta.

Are Indonesians homophobic?

Claiming "neutrality" in hate crimes that target any vulnerable individual or minority group doesn't translate in the global digital era, and Indonesians would do well to remember that silence is complicity.

4 years ago

Singaporean Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat speaks at a UBS client conference in Singapore on Jan. 14, 2019.

Singapore’s failed plan

The questions now are who will succeed Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, when he will eventually leave office and whether he will let a younger figure take the baton.

4 years ago

Page: 44

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